The year is 1976…

…before smartphones, Wi-Fi, and electric cars—and America is about to ring in its 200th birthday with the Biggest Baddest Birthday Party ever! What better way to celebrate thana 52-day, 8,000-mile family road trip across the country?

Join award-winning author G. Neri on a childhood road trip as his family piles into a station wagon (without seatbelts!) and visits meteor craters, historic battlefields, and roadside diners selling hot beef sundaes. Destination: the Bicentennial celebration in Washington, DC!

Before they’re through, they’ll have crossed twenty-six states in seven weeks and learned more about our nation’s history and what it means to be American than he ever thought possible.

Accompanied by the author’s own family photos and illustrated by Corban Wilkin, this travel memoir captures an unforgettable summer of staggering sights, incredible adventures, and a growing awareness about how far our country has come since the Declaration of Independence—and how far it has yet to go.